ANKARA
The ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party failed to properly examine the economic manifesto of Turkey’s main opposition party before criticizing its plans, opposition deputy chairwoman said on Wednesday.
Selin Sayek Boke, deputy chairwoman in charge of economic affairs for the Republican People’s Party (CHP), was responding to Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek’s claim that the CHP's economic plans were "hollow" and "utopic."
Simsek said the CHP's budget would cost at least 150 billion Turkish liras ($55.24 billion).
"That is wrong. Unfortunately, they did not read our manifesto,” Boke told The Anadolu Agency. “Our short-term budget requirement is up to 60 billion lira. Our four-year program is a gradual one. The 60 billion lira is for the first 100 days."
The CHP's manifesto, released on Sunday, outlined plans to more than triple the minimum wage; provide ‘family insurance’ for those living on less than 200 lira a month to take their monthly income to at least 720 lira; and support small- and medium-sized businesses.
Under the party’s plans, pensioners would receive additional payments on the year’s two main religious festivals.
Referring to the AK Party’s plan to build a canal linking the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea across Turkey’s European territory, Boke said: "The Istanbul Canal Project will cost 24 billion lira… We say that we would prefer to use money directly for our people instead for using it for the canal.”
She also pledged a 7 billion lira reduction in the national tax bill.
"We are not giving up existing projects but we need to do better,” Boke added. “Our plan will take Turkey's economy to a new record – 24 to 25 billion lira will be created very quickly."
Referring to a “missing” 600 billion lira from the current government’s budget, Boke said: “If we try to get this back into the system, it will create an additional income of 60 billion lira a year."
